Madoff Feeder Fund Deals Survive

A federal appeals panel has handed the receiver in the Bernard Madoff case another setback. The U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York on Friday rejected Irving Picard’s bid to throw out nearly $500 million in settlements with Madoff feeder funds. The three-judge panel unanimously upheld the lower-court ruling that preserved the settlements, which Picard insisted that he had the right under federal bankruptcy law to block. Picard complains that the deals, with J. Ezra Merkin and Fairfield Greenwich Group, will limit the amount he is able to collect for victims, and are barred until he finishes his own work. More on FinAlternatives here.